Wait
by trimurti
Summary: [FE7] "Since you left, all I have thought of is you..." Isadora finds it difficult to be the one left behind.


Wait

(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo

-0-

My favorite place is the front windows of the third floor of Castle Pherae. Perhaps I should not call it a 'favorite' place, as if I enjoyed haunting the area like the spirit of the lost little girl that I seem to be now. I do not enjoy it, of course. I have duties to adhere to, ones greater in scope than I myself am to the scheme of things. As a knight of Pherae, Lady Eleanora's personal guard...yes, this is what my life should be focused on now.

I should not be peeking behind gossamer curtains, praying to a busy God that any moment now, I will see you approaching the castle as one of Lord Elbert's number.

The castle is quieter now, lonely in its sudden emptiness. Out of all of the elite guard, I was the only one left behind. General Marcus, who was ordered to watch over Lord Eliwood and the remnants of the Knights of Pherae, carries out his duties, wrinkles lining his brow with the force of his grim countenance. Sadness weighs down Lord Eliwood's shoulders; he was not normally an effusive young man before, but now his pace is slower, his bright eyes dimmer. Lady Eleanora...no. All I can say is that my feelings mirror her own, save for the number of years she has had to enjoy her love's embrace.

This is inappropriate...I should not think these thoughts. Not here, where I can clearly see the front of the castle, a place that has not seen the shadow of Lord Elbert's messengers for over two weeks.

If...if I were not beholden to my duty, I could leave this place and find you. Would I find you, alive and well, injured and needing assistance, or are you--

No. I cannot think that.

Sometimes, Lady Eleanora looks at me with eyes that convey these very feelings. That my lady can share my feelings is sad. I have wanted to ask her if she has had the very same thoughts of leaving, but that would be improper. We must do all that we can to watch over Pherae while Lord Elbert and the elite guard are away. I will faithfully follow the duty that I have been entrusted with.

Yes...that is good.

But these thoughts...these feelings will not leave me be. I miss you, Harken. I...I miss the way you would look at me, one eyebrow arched just so, whenever I said something that amused you but you were too entrapped in your stoic image to exaggerate your expression. I miss your laugh...it was rarer than buried treasure. No, it was a treasure, a gift worth more than gold.

I miss you. I-I miss your smile, your hands, the gentle hesitance in your eyes just before you brushed your lips against mine. I miss sparring with you. You were the only one who took me seriously years ago, when you were the incoming foreigner sponsored by General Marcus himself and I was just a girl among men. That meant so much to me, did I ever tell you that? You meant so much to me...

Oh. Oh, I didn't...I didn't mean that. I haven't moved so far beyond everything to use past tense...you're still alive. I know it!

I know it.

It has to be true.

Dear Saint Elimine...I promised myself I wouldn't cry again, but look at me. Am I yet still just a girl yearning to be a knight? For all my airs, for all my vows regarding the sanctity of duty, all I can do is cry. Wouldn't you be embarrassed to see me as I am now?

I miss you, but most of all, I miss myself. I miss the woman I once was, the one that kissed the ring you gave me that night before giving it back to you, smiling as I told you that my love would protect you so that you would come back to me. And you laughed, but not out of malice; you were never cruel.

Childish, wasn't I? Although, it is no worse than as I am now.

More than anything, I want to find you. But my duties...well, you would understand. I cannot keep crying when there is so much to consider now. And, I really should cease coming here to wait for a glimpse of you. As General Marcus would say, I would do better to keep my mind on my own duties instead of another's. But...allow me this one indulgence, would you? I would wait for you, until the day I see Lord Elbert return with you as one of his retinue.

I will wait.

-end-

For months I've wanted to write Isadora and her relationship with Harken. There's something about their support, underneath the angst and the exclamation points, that strikes me as...real? It just has a certain _je ne sais quoi_ to me, I guess. 


End file.
